


The Road More Travelled

by AraSigyrn



Category: Justice League International (Comic)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-18
Updated: 2010-12-18
Packaged: 2017-10-13 18:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/140281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AraSigyrn/pseuds/AraSigyrn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bea and Tora get another chance at the morning after the night before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Road More Travelled

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Apathy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apathy/gifts).



On what is probably the fifteenth day, Booster steals Superman's underwear. How exactly this was supposed to help the whole situation, Bea isn't sure but she didn't find out about it until the next loop when Ted explained why they'd reset ahead of schedule. Booster doesn't say anything before Bea has to run downtown to stop the bank job at 09:06 so she doesn't ask what the hell he was thinking.

Tora leaves a message for her with Guy, who's taking the morning off to judge a swimsuit contest in Maui and Bea meets her for coffee and a bagel at lunch. "Max thinks he knows what happened."

"What does Oberon say?"

"I don't think he has been sober since this loop began," Tora looks down at her bagel and bites her lip. Bea turns to watch the people filing past and counts idly to ninety, tapping her fingers on the edge of the table.

"Has Scott turned up anything, you think?" Bea asks as she kicks one of the spare chairs out into the path of the running pickpocket. Tora winces a little as the kid goes tumbling onto the pavement and the cop chasing him stumbles to a halt just in time. Bea turns to look at him while Tora adds ice to her half-melted frappé. "His name is Tim Olson, he lives with his mom on 84th and 12. Watch the sixth step on the stairs, don't let the cat pee on you and it's his first time so cut him a break, yeah?"

"...you used to make sure he brought him home too," Tora points out as she slowly turns the watered down frappé into a popsicle and the bewildered cop leads the pickpocket away.

"That's Daniels," Bea says dismissively. "He'll make sure the kid gets home."

Tora looks out at the street. "Did you know him before?"

"No, but that doesn't matter," Bea points out. "Is that the Bug?"

Tora looks over to where the big blue Bug is beetling through the sky and her eyebrows go up sharply. "Isn't that the cookie factory? Isn't that J'onn?"

Bea shoots out of her chair to check just as the Bug deploys the winches and curses in Portuguese. There's no way anyone could have heard it over the roar of an enraged Martian but Tora purses her lips disapprovingly all the same.

Bea shakes her head. "Don't even start! If they cut the day short _again_ , I'm going to-"

-Her alarm goes off like a foghorn and Bea moans softly and very, very carefully opens her hands. She can still feel the lingering impression of smooth/soft skin under her fingers. Bea squeezes her eyes shut and tries not to think about it. The air is thick with the smell of sex and sweat and the sheets are slick and stick to her as she shifts gingerly. Just breathing makes her stomach churn and moving is a slow, delicate balancing act between the nausea and the sweaty heat of the body underneath her. Bea can't resist the temptation to open her eyes. Tora is blushing a delicate dusky pink and her eyes are downcast. She must be sick of looking at the floor by this time but Bea can't find the words to ask. Tora's lips look swollen, bruised a dark berry red and Bea wishes that she could remember what they tasted like.

"You want the shower?" Bea offers, trying not to inflict her morning breath on Tora.

"You do not want to shower?" Tora blushes harder, still a delicate pink that Bea thinks must taste like clear winter air.

"Go," Bea orders because she's not a saint even at her best and as Tora darts for the bathroom, Bea gets a chance to look at the purple-pink bruises bracketing her hips and the small oval hickies dotted over her shoulders and neck and it's all she has to hold onto. Bea waits until the shower starts before she rolls over and punches the mattress, ignoring the way her stomach gurgles and the taste of bile at the back of her throat.

It's not fucking fair that Gorilla Grodd's stupid time loop experiment had to happen _now_. Of all the days in all her life, why the hell did it have to be _this_ day? Tora is a sweetheart and she's forgiven Bea's drunken escapades before but she's never had her face rubbed in it, over and over again. Bea is going to skin that stupid ape if she loses her best friend over this.

She fumbles for the glass of tepid water on the bedside locker and gulps down a mouthful, gagging at the taste. She has three aspirin in individual foil sachets in the drawer but it's just too much energy to reach for them. She knows what's going to happen next, after all. Tora will stay in the shower for half an hour because she doesn't have to worry about leaving Bea hot water. Bea hasn't asked but she thinks that Tora spends the time in the shower freaking out.

In another ten minutes, Tora will take the blue bath-towel that matches her eyes and creep away to her room. Guy will burn breakfast five minutes after that and Booster's alarm will wake everyone else except Booster who will only wake up when Ted comes in to check on him. By the time they get through checking that everyone remembers and nothing has changed, it'll be 08:53 and Bea will have to go running downtown to stop the bank heist and make sure that the cops get all seven burglars.

She has one hour, thirteen minutes of 'free time' after that; she can catch Tim Olson or even catch him if nobody needs her around 09:23 or she can stop the graffiti 'artist' from writing 'FAG' on the Kord Industries office near the waterfront or she can stop Mabel Jenkins from getting behind the wheel of her car and avoid a twenty car pile-up or save Metropolis when Luthor's new cyborg goes crazy and rampages through an office building.

She needs to be back at Headquarters for 10:48 because Darkseid's latest monstrosity will come through there and fire is the best way to stop it. Ted has the whole day worked out on spreadsheets to maximize the good they can do. Max has optimized that so they can choose to save more lives or minimize property damage. Every crime, every accident that happens in North America for the next twenty hours is on that spreadsheet and Bea knows how to stop every one of them.

In twenty hours, the loop is going to reset. Bea is going to wake up hungover and sweaty with her best friend pinned to the bed underneath her and the ache of good sex throbbing between her legs and she'll get to start the whole fucked up day all over again.

She can't talk to Tora; the ice-princess runs away every time Bea tries and nobody else knows about their drunken hookup. Tora will come down to breakfast fully dressed and no-one will think to ask why. The only reason they've been able to keep it secret this long is because their team-mates are distracted by the loop. Bea can't even go to Oracle or any of the non League heroes because they won't remember it. Bea's having enough trouble remembering who resets with each loop and she's paranoid that she'll out them both to the wrong person if she starts talking.

Bea's just plain sick of the whole mess. She burned down the Bat-cave two loops ago just because she could and Batman's dismissive attitude pissed her off. She wants - _needs_ \- a day off to deal with sleeping with her best friend and she's not going to get it. So, fuck it. Bea's just not getting out of bed. Between Booster and Ted, the last few loops haven't made it past lunch-time anyway and Bea needs to think of how to persuade Tora not to break up with her. She can't do this without her best friend in her life.

She's taking the day off.

Bea rolls on to her back and drapes her arm over her eyes. Her stomach refuses to settle but the headache is manageable and she doesn't think she's going to throw up right this second. She can't get back to sleep but she drifts a little and loses track of time until someone taps on her door.

"Bea?" Tora sounds hesitant. Bea rolls under the covers and doesn't answer. "Bea? A-are you all right?"

"Mmf," Bea tries to will Tora to go away but the door creaks open and she feels each of Tora's uncertain steps like tiny shocks of pain in her brain.

"Bea?"

"What?" Bea snaps, pressing her fingers hard into her temples like she can squeeze out the headache if she presses hard enough. The pain shocks clarity into her muddled self-pity.

"Are you all right?" Tora settles on the very edge of the bed and Bea moans gratefully when cool fingers brush lightly across her forehead. It feels good and she presses closer before she can think better of it. Tora goes stiff and Bea remembers why she shouldn't be crowding so close.

"Sorry," she mutters, scooting back with her covers wound around her like a cocoon. The smell of sex gets stronger and Bea squirms a little. There's a stab of arousal, a tingle where her legs press together and god, she's getting wet. Bea closes her eyes and swallows miserably.

"No, I-I am the one who should be sorry," Tora says in her good-girl voice and she shakes her head. "I should not have run away. You are my friend and I hope that you still will be. I am sorry that I-" she hesitates like the words are unfamiliar "-took advantage of you."

"You think _you_ took advantage of _me_?" Bea sputters.

"I know I am not experienced," Tora says to her tightly clasped hands, cheeks pink and shoulders slumped. "And you-I should not have assumed that just because you sleep with women that you would want to sleep with me."

Bea stares at her and Tora goes pinker but she sits up straight and turns to face Bea. She looks like she's expecting Bea to shout at her or something and Bea rubs at her eyes.

"Okay, first things first," Bea says slowly. "You _wanted_ to sleep with me? It wasn't just the tequila?"

"I wanted to sleep with you," Tora peeks sideways at Bea, eyes dropping to follow the bare curve of her shoulder before she jerks her gaze away and goes red. "The tequila ...made it easier to approach you."

"You really wanted to sleep with me?"

"Yes!" Tora says petulantly.

"And you seriously think I _didn't_ want to sleep with you?" Bea demands incredulously.

"I am not your type, I know," Tora stammers, blushing redder than a stop light. "But you are...well _you_ and I couldn't resist and I am so sorry."

Bea smiles so wide that she's half-surprised the top of her head doesn't come off and grabs two handfuls of Tora's uniform and pulls her into a deep kiss. Her mouth tastes like something died in it so Bea doesn't draw the kiss out but Tora is soft-eyed and panting when she breaks them apart again.

"The _only_ thing you have to apologize for," Bea says seriously. "Is not telling me this fifteen or however many loops ago."

Tora nods, still dazed and she licks her lips. It's a thoughtless tease, pink tongue flicking over reddened lips and Bea wants to just push her down onto the bed and blow her mind. She's uncomfortably aware of how filthy she is, however and her breath is foul. Tora hasn't objected yet but after too many wasted iterations of the loop, Bea's paranoid about driving her away again.

"I need a shower," she says and Tora lets her up with flattering reluctance. Bea leaves the covers behind and saunters towards the bathroom stark naked, aware of Tora's eyes following her across the room. She stops in the hallway and cocks her hip invitingly. "Wash my back?"

Tora scrambles up and trips over her own feet in her haste to follow Bea into the bathroom and Bea smiles as she turns on the water.

She's going to have to send that dumb ape a banana basket for this.


End file.
